Tripathi takes oath as 19th Guv of M’laya

First Guv of State to take oath of office in Hindi

SHILLONG: West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi was on Tuesday sworn in as the 19th Governor of Meghalaya.
Tripathi, a former BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh and Speaker of the UP legislative Assembly, is the first Governor of the State to take oath of office in Hindi.
The oath of office to 81-year-old Tripathi was administered by Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya, Justice Uma Nath Singh, in the presence of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, his cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
Tripathi replaces Krishan Kant Paul, who has been appointed as Governor of Uttarakhand.
Tripathi will hold charge as Meghalaya Governor in addition to his existing duties in West Bengal. Speaking to newsmen after the swearing in ceremony, Tripathi made it clear that he will not talk politics as Governor of two states.
“I have made it known in West Bengal that I will never discuss political issues and the same will apply in Meghalaya. The Governor should be a person who respects all sections of the society,” he said.
Reacting to a query on how he would divide his time between West Bengal and Meghalaya, Tripathi said, “It will depend on the nature of work… If the nature of work calls for my presence here, I will be here.”
He was however silent on whether there was any possibility of him becoming the full-fledged Governor of Meghalaya.
“I don’t know. I will do whatever the government tells me to do,” he said.
On his priorities for Meghalaya, the new Governor said, “I will try to find out about the developmental activities going on in the State.”
He went on to say that infrastructure development such as construction of roads, airports and transport facilities were matters which required urgent consideration.
Asked for his comment on why some Governors refuse to serve in the Northeastern states, Tripathi said, “This is such a nice place and everyone should be willing to come here.”